This module is designed to help you explore how earth
science affects your life each day.

Choose A or B or C and complete ALL the requirements.

Watch an episode or episodes (about one hour total) of a show about
Earth, the weather, geology, volcanoes, or oceanography. Then do the
following:

Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you
watched.

Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.

Some examples include - but are not limited to - shows
found on PBS ("NOVA"), Discovery Channel, Science Channel,
National Geographic Channel, TED Talks (online videos),
and the History Channel. You may choose to watch a live
performance or movie at a planetarium or science museum
instead of watching a media production. You may watch online
productions with your counselor's approval and under your
parent's supervision.

Read (about one hour total) about Earth, the weather, geology, volcanoes,
or oceanography.. Then do the following:

Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you
read.

Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.

Books on many topics may be found at your local library.
Examples of magazines include but are not limited to
Odyssey, KIDS DISCOVER, National Geographic Kids, Highlights,
and OWL or owlkids.com.

Do a combination of reading and watching (about one hour total)
about Earth, the weather, geology, volcanoes, or oceanography. Then
do the following:

Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from what you
read and watched.

Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.

Complete ONE adventure from the following list for
your current rank or complete option A or B. (If
you choose an Adventure, chooseChoose one
that you have not already earned.) Discuss with
your counselor what kind of science, technology, engineering,
andor math was used in
the adventure or option.

Wolf Cub Scouts

Bear Cub Scouts

Webelos Scouts

Collections and Hobbies

Critter Care

Adventures in Science

Digging in the Past

Super Science

Earth Rocks

Grow Something

Option A: Complete two of the following:

Explain to your den or an adult what geology means.

Collect samples of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks and explain how each was formed.

Collect samples of three minerals. Explain to
your family or den what a mineral is and show and tell about the minerals
you collected.

With your family or den, make a mineral test kit,
and test minerals according to the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Record
the results.

Option B: Complete both of the following:

Make a fossil cast.

Make a dinosaur dig. Be a paleontologist, and
dig through a dinosaur dig made by another member of your den. Show
and explain the ways a paleontologist works carefully during a dig

Investigate: Choose A or B or C or D and complete ALL the requirements:

Volcanoes erupt

How are volcanoes formed?

What is the difference between lava and magma?

How does a volcano both build and destroy land?

Build or draw a volcano model. If you build a working model,
make sure you follow all safety precautions including wearing protective
glasses for your volcano’s eruption. If you draw a volcano, be sure
to draw a cross section and explain the characteristics of different
types of volcanoes.

Share your model and what you have learned with your counselor.

Rock On

What minerals are common in your state? Make a collection of
three to five common minerals and explain how they are used.

Are these minerals found in sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic
rocks?

Explain or demonstrate the difference in formation of the three
major types of rocks. Which types of rocks are common in your area?

Share your collection and what you have learned with your counselor.

Weather changes our world

Make three weather instruments out of materials around your
home. (Examples include a rain gauge, weather vane, barometer, anemometer,
and weather journal.) Use these and another method that is readily
available (i.e., thermometer, eyes, older person’s joints, etc.)
for a total of four methods to monitor and predict the weather for
one week. Keep a log of your findings. Which instrument provided
the most accurate information?

Keep a weather journal for a week. Include your predictions
and the predictions of a local meteorologist. Do your predictions
match those of the local meteorologist? Do your predictions match
the weather that occurred? How can the predictions become more accurate?

Discuss your work with your counselor.

Animal habitats:
Choose TWO of the following animal habitats and complete the activity
and questions. At least one habitat should be close to your home (within
50 miles). Visit at least one of the habitats. Once you have completed
the activity and questions, discuss the habitats and the activities
with your counselor:

Prairie
Draw or model a food web with at least five consumers and two producers
that live in the prairie habitat. What is the difference between
consumers and producers? Predators and prey? What would happen if
one of the animals in the food web disappeared?

Temperate forest
Research the two main categories of trees in the temperate forest
(coniferous and deciduous). Why are their leaves different? How
are their seeds different? Put a twig from a coniferous tree (cone-bearing
tree with needles) in a cup of water and tightly fasten a clear
plastic bag around the needles. Put a twig from a deciduous tree
(leafy tree that loses its leaves in the fall) in a cup of water
and tightly fasten a clear plastic bag around the leaves. Observe
what happens and draw pictures of your observations. Think of an
explanation for what occurred and discuss your explanation with
your counselor.

Aquatic ecosystem
With a parent’s permission and guidance, visit an aquatic habitat
near your home. Examples include a stream, river, lake, pond, ocean,
and wetland (a marsh or swamp). Draw or photograph the area. What
are the most common types of plants growing there? What animals
did you see? Did you see, hear, or smell any evidence of other animals?
(Your evidence might include things like bird calls, splashes of
fish or frogs jumping, tracks, feathers, or bones.) How do aquatic
ecosystems affect your life? How have humans affected the ecosystem?
(Look for signs of humans such as trash and bridges or walkways.)
How do you think humans have affected the ecosystem in ways you
cannot see? (Think about fertilizer and pesticides washing off your
lawn and flowing into a stream. How would this affect creatures
that live in the water?) What can you do to improve the quality
of the ecosystem?

Temperate or subtropical rain forest
Describe the three main levels of the rain forest (canopy, understory,
and forest floor). Make a drawing or model showing examples of animals
and plants that live at each level. Choose an animal or plant from
each level and explain how it is adapted to its particular place
in the rain forest.

Desert
Choose a desert animal or plant. Make a model of it, draw it, or
describe it. Explain how it is particularly well adapted to survive
in a place where there is very little water. How would the desert
be different if this plant or animal were not there?

Polar ice
Research an animal that can be found in the polar ice habitat. Draw
or make a model of the animal and name three characteristics that
make it well adapted for life in the very cold and snowy environment.

Tide pools
Explain how a tide pool is formed and describe several animals that
are found in tide pools. Make a model or draw a diagram of a tide
pool at a high intertidal zone and a low intertidal zone. Include
animals found in tide pools and explain how they adapt to their
constantly changing environment.

Visit.
Choose A or B and complete ALL the requirements.

Visit a place where earth science is being done, used, explained,
or investigated, such as one of the following: cave, quarry or mine,
geology museum or the gem or geology section of a museum, gem and mineral
show, university geology department, TV or radio station meteorology
department, weather station, volcano or volcano research station, or
any other location where earth science is being done, used, explained,
or investigated.

During your visit, talk to someone in charge about how people
at the site use or investigate a particular area of science. How
could this investigation make the world better?

Discuss with your counselor the science being done, used, explained,
or investigated at the place you visited.

Explore a career associated with earth science. Find out what subjects
you would need to study as you get older. What kind of education would
you need in the future to help explore Earth? What types of people other
than geologists explore Earth? Discuss with your counselor what is needed
to have a career in earth science.

The requirements for and further information about
this award may be found in the current edition of the
Cub Scout Nova Awards Guidebook (BSA Publication No. 34032)

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